There are three distinguished in fierceness: Israel among the nations, the dog among animals, and the cock among birds. —Rabbi Simeon, Tractate Bezah 25b, Babylonian Talmud (Quincentenary ed.), Soncino Pr.

Where is it possible to find a group of Jews who are committed to Israel, and whose children are likely to honor that commitment? The answer is, in a synagogue on the Sabbath. —Elliott Abrams, "Can Jews Survive?"

It is a fact that the Jewish religion is above all Jewish nationalism ... One must be a Jew first and a human being second. —Moses Hess, Rome and Jerusalem, as quoted in The Decadence of Judaism in Our Time by Moshe Menuhin.

Why, then, does truth generate hatred ... unless it be that truth is loved in such a way that those who love something else besides her wish that to be the truth which they do love. ... Therefore, they hate the truth for the sake of whatever it is that they love in place of the truth. —Augustine of Hippo, Confessions (Bk. X, Ch. XXIII, 34)

Monday, May 12, 2008

On April 25, 2008, the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson issued an "action alert" asking "supporters of free speech, Palestinian human rights, and Dr. Wilkerson to write to both Muzzlewatch and CODZ to ask them to alert their readers to the Zionist attack on Dr. Wilkerson and the campaign to have her rehired, including our online petition." Yesterday, they started a new petition campaign on the same subject. Here's the text:

To the Leaders of Muzzlewatch and the Committee for the Open Discussion of Zionism:

Both Muzzlewatch and the Committee for the Open Discussion of Zionism (CODZ) are efforts of national, if not international, scope ostensibly aimed at exposing and countering Zionist efforts to squelch criticism of Israel and Zionism. Muzzlewatch is a project of the Oakland, CA-based Jewish Voice for Peace and New York City-based CODZ was founded by Joel Kovel, Howard Zinn, and others in response to a Zionist-inspired attempt to stop US distribution of Kovel's book, Overcoming Zionism.

Yet, as of early May 2008, nearly three months after Catherine Wilkerson, MD, was fired for criticizing Israel and Zionism and for resisting a political gag clause in a proposed employment contract neither Muzzlewatch nor CODZ has had a word to say about it. This despite repeated requests and the fact that her criminal trial and acquittal on trumped-up charges stemming from a protest at an earlier Zionist event were covered in both the mainstream and alternative media. The dispute over Dr. Wilkerson's subsequent firing was also covered in the mainstream media and the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has now weighed-in, comparing the gag clause to McCarthy-era tactics and linking it to the "controversial speech of ... Catherine Wilkerson, about Israel and Palestine."

We, the undersigned supporters of free speech, Palestinian human rights, and Dr. Wilkerson urge the leaders of Muzzlewatch and CODZ to alert their readers and supporters to the Zionist attack on Dr. Wilkerson and to the campaign to have her rehired.

Notes: You can write to Muzzlewatch at board@jewishvoiceforpeace.org and write to CODZ at info@codz.org. The Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson will not share your e-mail address without your explicit permission. You do NOT have to make a donation to sign this petition and you cannot donate to the defense committee through this web site. To make a donation to the defense committee or to get more information, please go to defendwilkerson.org . If you sign the petition, you will be given the option of joining the Committee to Defend Catherine Wilkerson's e-mail announcement group. You can also add yourself to that list by sending an e-mail message to: DefendWilkerson-Announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com